Garden of Madness - Chapter 1
Updated: Sep 25
Unto Dawn
“How will I know when I’ve finally gone Mad?”
Dram sol Verias sat at the edge of the world and waited for it to end.
Morning stole across the cliffs. Streaks of light, pale and red, flowed down the sheer stone face. Wind and waves were mute as they flowed below, the soundlessness catching like fire as the world was set ablaze.
Dram stared far out over the water, watching it shuffle ever inward, constantly endeavoring to change but somehow remaining the same. He wondered how he had changed, if he was ready. Surely he wasn’t still the boy who had cried over losing his mother? The world was larger now, full of responsibilities, their weight pressing down on him as he looked south—toward Aliotas.
“I thought I would find you sulking here.”
There was no need to turn. Dram cursed himself for not finding a more remote spot. Just one final time, he wanted to say goodbye to Sol Septis on his own, free of company. Free of Aevar.
In losing his mother, he had gained a brother. The two events were not strictly related, but they had happened so close together that Dram now couldn’t help but associate them in his mind. He glanced over as Aevar took a seat beside him, that permanent smirk plain on his face as he leaned back on his arms and stared longingly at the water below.
They were brothers in spirit only, their features as starkly opposed as day and night. In the soft morning light, Aevar’s blond hair was afire, strands snapping up like tongues of a flame. His pale skin was pinker than usual, his eyes alight with the promise of the day.
“I’m not sulking.”
“Sure you are.” Aevar leveled his grin at Dram, pale teeth behind pale lips. He adopted a mocking tone, pitching his voice down to imitate Dram. “Who am I? What does it all mean? How can I make everything perfect all the time?”
Dram rolled his eyes and turned back to the ocean. For someone so young, he did harbor endless worries, but then again, he was Blessed. They both had. That came with responsibility. “Some don’t make it through training.”
“And some birds don’t take flight when they’re nudged off the cliffs. Will you weep for them all?” His smirk faltered as he looked at Dram. “We’ve been training together for how many years? If anyone is ready for the trials, it’s us.”
“We don’t know what they’ll be,” Dram argued.
Aevar shrugged. “Isn’t that part of the fun?” He understood that Dram needed some more time, so he clasped Dram’s shoulder. “I’ll see you down at the docks?”
Dram nodded and resumed his somber vigil of the rising sun, offering a silent prayer to Solis, hoping against hope his father’s schemes would not come to affect Aevar.
***
The streets were packed; thousands of people had come out to see them off. The Hallowed Lordlings, inseparable as ever, off to accept the highest honor in the Empire. Dram couldn’t keep himself from smiling as they walked down the street. People forced their way forward just to catch a glimpse.
“Attention isn’t always such a bad thing, is it?” Aevar asked.
Dram felt guilty for enjoying the attention, but soon he would be gone, his home and his people left far behind. He was unsure when he would see them again. If. After all they had been through, they deserved to know that he appreciated them. So he smiled and waved, earning more than a fair share of sultry smiles and squeals of joy from some of the young women they passed. Aevar beamed at that, making a few women gasp as he winked their way.
“Ready to see Eylia again, are you?” Dram teased.
“Of course. Don’t look too happy now,” Aevar warned as they approached the docks.
Dram was about to ask why when he looked up toward their ship and saw who was waiting for them on the dock. His father and Captain Ulimar were shoulder to shoulder, gleaming in the yellow-gold coats that were generally reserved for formal ceremonies. Next to them was the face Dram dreaded the most, implacable, carved of stone. Her eyes were shining gold, dancing with the diamonds on the water. Within Senna’s stare Dram couldn’t tell if there was love, resentment, or pity. Possibly all three. She was upset, but above all—to make him feel even worse—she was understanding. She knew what he was, knew the responsibility that entailed, and yet she had fallen for him anyway. He hoped it had not just been his persistence that finally won her affection, hoped he had more to offer in the future. Whatever the future held.
“My Lady,” Dram said stiffly as he approached, suddenly aware of not only the thousands of strangers’ eyes trained on him, but also the serious stares emanating from his father and the Captain of the Morning Guard.
“My Lord,” she replied, her throat similarly tight, though from sadness or anger he could not tell.
Dram offered his hand and she accepted, placing her palm delicately in his. His heart hammered as he raised their hands to his forehead and offered the words he could not say aloud: Forgive me, I am doing what I must.
I know, her eyes said as he straightened up. But I do not have to like it. With a stiff curtsey to all four men, Senna walked off the dock, disappearing into the crowd. Yet another person Dram was beholden to. Resisting the urge to watch her go, he and Aevar turned to the older men and gave them formal bows.
“Stand, my sons.” It was not a title Aevar took lightly, standing straighter at the declaration. “Today we see the prides of Sol Septis undertake a journey.” Lord sol Verias’s voice carried well over the lazy lapping of waves below the docks, all onlookers clambering to get a better look. “Today we see our young Lord and our esteemed ward embarking on a test of will, strength, and determination. All undertaken with hopes of serving our land and our people against the threat of the Garden.”
The silence deepened at the mention of the Garden, echoes of that terrible day filling the silence. It had left families shattered and punctured a Lady-sized hole in the hearts of all. Dram looked up at his father and, for the first time, considered what the man had lost: not only the mother of his child, but his one true love. Dram scanned the crowd for Senna reflexively, but she was gone. Would he ever see her again?
“To our once and future saviors!” his father shouted, earning raucous cheers. Aevar bowed before turning and striding onto the ship, stopping to flash a few more well-received smiles before disappearing below deck.
Captain Ulimar gave Dram a hearty clasp on the shoulder before marching off the dock, leaving Dram alone with his father, the silence between them deafening amidst the roar of the crowd.
Unable to articulate his fears, but wanting to say something, Dram blurted, “I’m scared.”
His father simply nodded.
“What if I fail?” His instructions ran again in his head. He had never been one for secrets, not truly. Now he was set to carry one across the sea, across the continent, and into the heart of the Empire.
“Then we try again,” his father said, “and fail better.” Dram saw more of his own features reflected in his father’s face now, only the white hairs setting them truly apart. That and his green eyes—the only memento left from his mother.
“Aevar…” Dram began. But his father shook his head, killing the question before it was uttered. “It’s too much to keep to myself,” Dram tried again. “In Aliotas, I’ll be all alone.”
His father drew him close and whispered, “The Light will shine on you again, my son.” Then they parted, and Dram knew he could linger no longer. “Forward…”
“Unto Dawn,” Dram responded. Familiar words igniting a familiar feeling.
With one last nod, he followed Aevar onto the ship, listening to the din of the crowd grow muted. He did not spare a look back for his people—he would see them again. He would return victorious or not at all.
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